In this public service ad, the most powerful men in Washington D.C. and Hollywood speak up against sexual assault

WebHits is Rappler's choice video for the day. Tweet us your suggestions for Webhits at @rapplerdotcom using the hashtag #WebHits.

MANILA, Philippines It is the 21st century, and women have come far. From the days when they were forced to keep silent and stay in the kitchen, women can now wear trousers, hold public office, excercise the right to suffrage, and enter the military.

But have they come far enough?

The White House releases a minute-long video, with seven of the most powerful men in Washington D.C. and Hollywood condemning the gruesome fact that women continue to deal with: sexual assault.

Called the 1 is 2 Many campaign, US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with actors Benicio del Toro, Daniel Craig, Steve Carell, Dul Hill, and Seth Meyers speak up against sexual assault and encourage other men to do the same.

Rappler.com

Link:
Webhits: Obama, Biden, Hollywood stars speak up in anti-rape campaign

May Day in a changing world

By Nikos Konstandaras

Like glaciers melting after ages of stability, the global political system is undergoing great change. Alliances are loosened or reinforced, old enmities are revived and the whole system of global governance is being tested. It is impossible to predict where this will lead.

On Thursday, there was a major May Day rally by workers in Moscows Red Square the first since 1991 and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Many of the banners did not express the demands and wishes of Russian workers, instead they praised President Vladimir Putin for his dynamic intervention in Ukraines domestic affairs and for the annexation of Crimea. On May 9, a major military parade in Red Square will commemorate the day in which the Allies defeated Nazi Germany. The revival of this Soviet tradition was Putins project. More recently, Russia adopted laws which make it easier to annex parts of countries that were in the Soviet Union; they also allow citizens of such territories to gain Russian citizenship. It is clear that Russia is on an irredentist march.

Putin is unfazed by the economic sanctions announced by the United States and the European Union, and it is clear that he will continue to challenge the US. It cannot be a coincidence that on Thursday Chinas Defense Ministry announced a joint naval excercise with Russia in the East China Sea later this month. On his recent visit to the area, US President Barack Obama made clear his countrys support for Japan in its dispute with China over a group of uninhabited islets which Japan controls. Russia, on its part, is involved in a dispute with Japan over a group of islands that the Soviet Union seized at the end of World War II. This is likely to draw the US even further into the area.

On Russias western front, the United States and NATO have said they will support Ukraine if it is attacked, and that the alliances members will stand together if any of them is threatened. On the eastern front, Russia has taken a clear stand in support of China.

This flurry of action on the international chessboard assumes greater importance because the US and the EU appear to be in a weak position: even as they are obliged to use threats to force Russia to back down, it is clear hey are in no mood for war; at the same time, they are losing ground in the most critical area the economy. On Wednesday, the World Bank published a study measuring the real output of countries. On the basis of 2011 figures, it concluded that Chinas economy may overtake that of the US before the end of 2014. Also, India is in third place, leapfrogging over Japan and Germany. Sooner rather than later, the American and European dominance of the global system of governance will become untenable. How this issue changes the system or destroys it will determine the fate of the world and each country.

Read more from the original source:
May Day in a changing world